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Want to know what real Mexican cooking tastes like? Pull into this Howard County Shell station. Skeptical? Catch a whiff of the smells coming off the grill at Rodrigo Albarran-Torres’s stools-only operation. You might think you’ve wandered into a mercado in Mexico City, given the depth and punch of the tacos (try them stuffed with carnitas) chilaquiles, posole, and huaraches that make up the surprising, ever-changing menu.

Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Logan Circle.

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.